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Gill visits rural Vietnamese village

Reigning AFC Women's Player of the Year, Westfield Matilda and Goodwill Ambassador for the Asian Football against Hunger Campaign Katie Gill visited a rural village in the Vietnamese province of Hue last week and encouraged the residents to have hope and continue striving to improve their lives.

Reigning AFC Women's Player of the Year, Westfield Matilda and Goodwill Ambassador for the Asian Football against Hunger Campaign Katie Gill visited a rural village in the Vietnamese province of Hue last week and encouraged the residents to have hope and continue striving to improve their lives.

The 27-year-old, who helped Australia win the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup, shared with the 12 families in the Hai Tien fishery village that they have the power to bring change to the community and shape a better future for their children.

The visit was part of the efforts between the AFC and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to fight hunger which affects one billion people in the world including 578 million people in Asia.

The AFC has supported over 30 projects in 10 countries throughout Asia and allocated US$413,000 from the AFC Asian Cup 2011 ticket sales revenue to support the campaign against hunger.

Gill, accompanied by AFC Corporate Responsibility Head Dr. Annathurai Ranganathan, was first given a briefing on the village and project at the FAO Hue Project Office by Baku Takahashi, the FAO Regional Fisheries Livelihood Programme's Technical Advisor for South and Southeast Asia.

She was introduced to Yuriko Shoji, the FAO representative in Vietnam and Vu Ngoc Tien, the FAO assistant representative, before they began their journey to the village.

At the village, Gill interacted with the mothers involved in the supported aquacultural activities and their children and took a closer look at their experiences and hardship.

The FAO initiatives have enabled the women and their families to create extra income via the fishery project and brought harmony to their life.

Gill then visited the aquacultural area which was accessible by boat and later, alongside local football coaches, organised fun football activities for 60 children who got to play with 32 new balls donated by the AFC.

The Sweden-based pro footballer also signed autographs on footballs and jerseys for the children and wished them luck and encouraged them to stay positive.

Gill has said that by launching the campaign the AFC and FAO have started the fight against hunger but in order for the mission to be successful, everyone else needs to get on board.

“The more support and resources that the programme receives, the higher the chances of improving and hopefully eliminating hunger that Asian women and their families face.

“Everybody needs to play their part, no matter how big or small,” she said.